Atomic orbitals: 6f wave functions

This page addresses the 6fxyz, 6fx(z2-y2), 6fy(z2-x2), and 6fz(x2-y2) wave functions. See below for links to images of the wave functions of the other 6f wave functions.

Schematic plot of the 6f wave function ψ6fxyz.

The line graph on the left is a plot of values along along the x = y = z line. The surface plot is on the x = y plane, so the line plot is along the diagonal from bottom left to top right of the surface plot.

The 6fxyz, 6fx(z2-y2), 6fy(z2-x2), and 6fz(x2-y2) are identical in appearance and differ only is direction. The 6fx(z2-y2), 6fy(z2-x2), and 6fz(x2-y2) orbitals can be generated from the 6fxyz orbital by 45° rotations about the x-, y-, and z-axes respectively. This is best seen when viewing all four together.